15 August -- Malindi to Lamu (by David)

Today, Roj and I woke up about 7:00 a.m. It was already very light out but I was still anxious to try to see what was left of the sun rising on the Indian Ocean. We dashed out pretty quickly and made the short walk to the beach. It was very nice out, especially since there were very few people on the beach and the Driftwood Club was deserted. At the beach, we noticed only one elderly couple going for a very early morning dip…no other guests were in sight.

We decided to have a cup of coffee then go for an early morning jog. The restaurant staff were up and about and we got our coffee pretty quickly. We dropped by the cabin to change and started jogging while the morning was still cool and the beach mostly empty. We ran all the way to the end of one side of the beach where it ended in a coral wall and back to the entrance to the hotel. Roger decided that was enough for him (a good 25 minute jog) while I decided to continue to the other end of the beach, completing the run in about 40 minutes. Towards the opposite end of the beach, I ran passed a group of five acrobats practicing their routine in the sand. They were creating a human tower with two guys while a fourth young man stood on his hands above them and then sprang down to the ground.

After cooling down and showering we decided to have leisurely breakfast and make do with one trip into town to pickup the Kenya Airline tickets, post our latest entries into the blog and head to the airport. I went shopping for souvenirs for Brock Anne and Sommer while Roger posted our latest journal entries to our online website.

About an hour after shopping, the driver (Ali) and I went back by the Cybercafé to pickup up Roj and head to the airport. Our luggage JUST weighed in at the maximum amount….actually, a couple of kilos over but they let us continue just the same. The flight to Lamu only took about 30 minutes. After touching down, we took a small ferry to the port in Lamu. This was all pretty hectic, especially since there was a crowd at the port and we were certain where to go. Miraculously, someone from our Bed and Breakfast (Janat) was at the pier and they quickly grabbed our too heavy luggage, through them over their shoulders and escorted us to the B & B.

The Janat B & B was just a short hike from the main harbor road through several twisting and turning passages that were no wider than one’s arms out-stretched. We both felt we’d be lucky to find out way back to the harbor….but we managed pretty well without getting too lost when we ventured out. After checking in, we headed back to the main harbor street and had lunch. It was pretty warm out, so we decided to return to the room for showers and a nap.

Afterwards, we walked around the city until it starting getting dark and then headed back to the hotel to find out how safe it would be to venture out at night in Lamu. (We found out there is actually very little crime and that people all know each other.) We had Swahili tea (me) and beer (Roj) beside the small pool and watched the bats diving for insects around the pool area. The tea was an aromatic blend of cardamom, ginger and perhaps some cinnamon.

About an hour later, we went out of a dinner of grilled crab and seafood pasta.